Hazardous Waste Management

What's new @ HWM?

Sustainable labs guide for researchers

Over the past year, the Sustainable Labs Working Group (SLWG) has consulted with various stakeholders – students, staff, and faculty – to identify best practices on our campuses and those of our peers, and synthesized them into a summary guide to sustainable lab practices. The McGill Sustainable Labs Guide explains and expands on the six sustainability items that have been added to the Laboratory Safety Inspection Work Form. While these items will not affect inspection scores, they will allow the University to collect baseline data on existing practices and identify opportunities for improvement. You can find it HERE!

Reminder: keep your chemical inventory up to date!

It is now mandatory to use myLab to keep track of your laboratory chemical inventory. Don't forget to remove items from your inventory when you submit a request for chemical waste disposal!

A technician from the HWM deals safely and efficiently with a chemical waste spill during an emergency

Waste disposal at McGill

The HWM has disposal guidelines, and handles various types of wastes for internal and external clients:

Radioactive waste

Find out how to collect, package, label, and dispose of various types of radioactive waste, and also how to reduce RA waste through delay and decay of radioisotopes.

Chemical waste

How to package and label your chemical waste and have it ready for collection by the HWM.

Biomedical waste

Safe disposal of biomedical waste requires proper packaging and care.

Bulk waste

If you produce bulk waste in solid or liquid form, find out more on how to package it properly for disposal.

Waste pickups

If you have waste products that need to be collected, first prepare your inventory to pick up and submit it to us. We will get in touch with you to schedule an appointment. If your building has a waste room, see also our regular pickup schedule across both campuses (your inventory list will still be required).

Recycling

We handle recyclable hazardous materials and other items that cannot be accepted via the university's recycling program, such as batteries, appliances, and various metals.